Partners in Crime
by Jakers-Reviews
Summary: A story that takes place in it's own world, we follow a master thief named Naruto Uzumaki, his partner nicknamed Levi "Hime" McGarden, and their exploits. Inspired by Sly Cooper. Naruto x Levi. Will contain Lemons and Harem elements. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1: Breaking in

_**Jakers-Reviews and NinjaW are back once more with another Naruto story. Now, neither of us are going to just through "Naruto: Sounds Complicated" under the bus; once [Jakers-Reviews] showed this to [NinjaW], neither of us could say no to this become a series.**_

 _ **This is a Naruto Harem fic that's probably going to at least be something rather different. It's storyline is roughly adapted from the Sly Cooper games, and it contains a good deal of characters from other series (Especially later down the line). FInally, this story takes place in it's own universe, separate from any continuity that any of it's characters or even locations may actually be from. So character are going to be a bit to very OOC (Out of Character). This is a massive crossover of multiple series to form it's own world. That said, enjoy.**_

 _ **Chapter 1: Breaking In**_

As the rain of the storm night quietly fell on top the roof of an Alabastan Military HQ, a lean man in a black and orange jumpsuit is shimmying his way across the edge of the top of the 6 Story building; You would think this man would be easy to spot a mile off, but the multitude of wanted posters for grand theft featuring this man on the streets below tell a different story.

"Ah… I love the rain." He said as he made his to the floor of the roof. "It's the closest thing to an on-the-job refreshment."

" _What?_ _ ***static***_ _You're after job refreshments aren't enough?"_

"Calm down, Hime. You know that there's not substitute for you. Just-"

" _Just Additions. I get that. Just be careful out there Naruto. Without you, this wouldn't be nearly as fun."_

"Again Hime, calm down." Naruto pressed a button on his ear piece to make sure she heard him. "I live for this sort of thing."

" _Yeah, and that's what worries me."_

Sensing that their conversation was over, Naruto began to look around for an entry into the building. "Well, that chimney looks to be the only way in from up here." Naruto pulled out an orange-colored device that looked an awful-lot like binoculars, albeit a very high-tech version of them. "Yep, this building is otherwise sealed tight. Good." Naruto placed his tool back into his side pouch as he made his way to said chimney. "I'd hate to find out that my district's Police Headquarters isn't properly protected."

" _ **Military**_ _Headquarters, Naruto."_

"Same thing!" Naruto began to slowly make his way down the chimney. "Good thing this isn't lit. I'd be fucked otherwise." Naruto could have sworn he heard some sort of noise through his earpiece.

Luckily for him, the chimney fell into an empty office. "Employee's Lounge, perhaps?" Naruto had no way of knowing, so he pulled the device out once again, and stared out a window. "No one is here, it seems. Now where's that safe?"

" _My intel says it should be on the floor above."_

"Strange. Thought for sure they'd put it on the next floor up."

" _Upset that the job is easier?"_

"Considering who this is for, no." Naruto then slipped outside the office. "Well, If I have to go a floor up, I go a floor up." Naruto saw and elevator, still holding the device in his hands. "Hella way to second floor."

" _Are you seriously going to take an elevator up? Seriously?"_

"No. Why would I do that?" Naruto, gathering every ounce of muscle in his arms, began to pry the door open and look to see the elevator was on the top floor. "When I can make it more dangerous than I need to?"

" _Please tell me this isn't going to be normal."_

"Nah." Naruto said, putting his device into his pocket as he got onto the ladder and climbed up the shaft. "I'm just enjoying my stay. It's not like I'm going to be coming back here again."

" _I_ _ **greatly**_ _prefer your cockiness to your recklessness, you know."_

"Yeah… I know." Naruto smirked to himself. "Okay, second floor." Naruto reach the second floor elevator door. He opened his side pouch, and did NOT pull his orange device again, but instead pulled out some kunai knives, and stabbed one into the wall. "Good old ninja tactics - you never fail me." Naruto use his two knives to stab his way to the center bottom of the door. Naruto took great care in making sure the kunai well securely in place before making a leap to stand on them. "Make shift flooring." He snarked to himself as he once again pried the door open. It took him a bit longer this time since he didn't have a solid floor this time, but the results are all the same. "Now, where's our little safe?"

" _Just look around in the rooms and pray you're alone. That seems to be your gameplan."_

"Hey, it's been working, right?" Naruto's long distance friend had no argument. "Besides, we picked today for a reason, right?"

" _No,_ _ **they**_ _picked today for a reasons."_

Naruto went through, checking room after room without finding what he's looking for. He took a moment to observe a window with a fire escape, noting it for later as he returned to his search. "Okay, last door. So it's probably behind this door."

And to Naruto's delight, the safe was in fact in the room. "Finally, there it is! Now I can get what **I'm** after!" There's actually another reason that Naruto was happy that this room was the one with the safe, but that'd be a spoiler. "Okay then, how to open this?"

" _I can help you with that. I've been working on that lock."_

"How?"

" _Come on, Naruto - I'm the master of unlocking! You know that!"_

"Okay, you have the code?"

" _Yeah, I think so. The code should be 992222"_

"9-9-2-2-2-2." To both their delight, the door opened to reveal the giant tan bag of… something. It looked like a mail bag, but it's was a bit too heavy to be that, which was proved when Naruto had some trouble getting a hold on it. "I see why he wanted us to get it."

Naruto managed to grab it, realizing it wasn't so bad after putting it over his shoulder. "Now to get out of here."

" _Any smart ideas?"_

"Yes." Naruto went back to the window he passed earlier. "Going to make a quick escape." Naruto made a quick dash to the window.

" _Umm… Naruto, I just remembered something - did you remember to take out the cameras on the roof?"_

"No."

" _WHAT!? WHY?!"_

"Well," as Naruto made his way onto the fire escape. "I was hoping I'd get to meet-"

Naruto stopped talking as an arrow nearly shot him, missing by only a half a foot, and was emitting electricity. "NARUTO UZUMAKI, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" Naruto turned his head to the building next to the one he was in sat a woman with long scarlet hair, reaching to her hips. She had her torso covered with armor that accounted for her chest, and also wore a blue skirt.

And almost immediately, the storm calmed down to the most mild drizzle possible, as if to give the two of them a chance to talk.

"Hello to you too, Erza. How are you tod-"

"Shut it! I have to admit, I wouldn't have guessed you'd try to rob Police HQ, but you've gotten sloppy."

"Come again?"

"You forgot to take out the cameras. Made it too easy to figure out it was you."

"Yeah, _forgot_."

"What are you sa-"

"I'm saying - What's the fun of breaking into Police HQ if I don't get to see my favorite police woman? No fun at all."

"You…. Little…" Erza reloaded her crossbow and took aim. "Well, it doesn't matter. Tonight, coming with me to jail."

"You know, being with you almost makes going to jail worth it." Erza took a shot, with Naruto dodging by sliding down the ladder to the second floor. "Almost - Gotta go!"

The storm once again picked up as Naruto made his way to the other ladder as Erza continued to fire. While it was a manual-reloaded crossbow, she was so fast you'd think it's semi-automatic. Not that it mattered since Naruto dodged every shot and made it down to the parking lot.

 _Where is he hoping to get away to?_ She noticed Naruto making a mad dash to the end of the parking lot. _A hoverbike? it that NO!_ Erza pulled out two daggers, and through them full force at the bike. To her dismay, both daggers was caught before it could land.

"THANKS, ERZA!" Naruto yelled up to her. "GOOD OLD METAL FACE WILL LOVE THESE!" Naruto, already on his bike with the bag and now the daggers, started it up and made his way out of the parking lot and quickly escaped into the seemingly endless desert.

"Damn it…" Erza muttered to herself. "I only had three of those daggers." She pulled out the last one and sighed as she made her way back to her office. "May as well use the fire escape." Erza climbed up the ladders, being sure to pull them up as she did until she got to the third floor. She hoped through the window, closing it just as some more thunder rolled in and headed to her room. Her depression sat in as she looked at the open safe in her room. "What am I going to tell Cobra?" She looked over and saw that Naruto left her a parting gift: two kunais.

Meanwhile, in the desert…

We find Naruto on his bike speeding through the desert. "Another days work."

" _Did you_ _ **really**_ _jeopardize the mission_ _ **just**_ _to get a chance to talk to Erza?"_

"No. _jeopardize_ would imply that doing that could of made me fail."

" _Again, I love you when you're cocky. I hate you when you're reckless."_

"Hehehe… yeah. Anyway, the mission was success, so don't worry."

" _Fine… I guess you're right. See you before morning?"_

"Yeah, I'll be back in about two hours. See you then." Naruto drove off as the storm cleared up and the moon began to shine in full force has our hero(?) made his way home.


	2. Chapter 2: Coming Home

_**Chapter 2: Coming Home**_

After about an hour of trying to figure out Naruto's motive, Erza still had made no progress in that regard. The tired scarlet had about 20 different files spread out across her desk, with Naruto's in her left hand. "Metalface. Metalface. Who exactly is that?" The only remote connection was some guy with a fedora and sunglasses. He was rather tan, and had a good deal of piercing across his face. "I guess it could be Gajeel. But I don't have any way to prove that."

Just then, Erza's computer began to light up with some rather strange colors. "Oh yeah… the monthly meeting…" _And to think I would have had a clean report for a change._

Erza stood up from her desk, took a headpiece laying next to her computer, and put it on closing her eyes.

Once she opened her eyes, she was in a very dark room, lacking detail of an sort; Only for a moment before a clapping of hands lit the room up to reveal… that it's still not very interesting. What _was_ interesting was that Erza herself wasn't in the room, but a projected hologram of her instead, taking part in a circle of people. Looking around the room revealed that several people there were holographic projections; everyone in fact excluding the large muscular man.

"So" said man said "are you ready for the monthly meeting?"

"Yes." The group of 10 or so stared at the one solid man in the room. "First of all I would like to request for a report on any known Alabastan criminals."

"Well…" Erza scratched her head nervously. "Naruto Uzumaki has-" Erza stopped to take the time to 'appreciate' that nobody except for the large man and the blue haired fellow beside him took her seriously. "He managed to break into the HQ you have stationed me at." That got everyone's attention. "He somehow managed to figure out when we weren't going to be on the second floor. And he managed to swipe a bag of confiscated currency. The thing is, I'm not sure why."

"Well, Naruto sure has stepped up his game."

"Lee," The thin girl next to him said "Are you _happy_ this Naruto fellow is a criminal?"

"No, Sakura. But I must admire his determination."

"Anyway." The large man said. "Erza, any idea as to why Naruto would do this all of the sudden."

"No, sadly."

"How strange, Lord Cobra." The large man (Cobra) turned to the blue-haired man beside him, as did everyone else. "This isn't quite like Naruto. Erza's reported Naruto every month since she join our forces, but he's never committed such a crime before hand."

"Yeah." A different, slightly less large man said through his holographic projection while smoking a few cigars. "He's never made an assault on any building, especially on an HQ; he always stuck to robbing other criminals" He took a deep huff of his tobacco. "What's he playing at?"

"It can't be him alone. He's got to be working with someone." Sakura looked over to Erza. "Did he mention anything or anyone?"

"He referenced someone by the name of Metalface. The only person it could possibly be is-"

"Gajeel Redfox." Lee interrupted. "I didn't want to believe it, but I think it is Gajeel."

The blue-haired man was… confused. "How can you con-"

"Because, Jellal, I've had numerous criminals, some S-Class refer to a 'Metalface.' And yes, I have had someone confirm it."

"Well." Jellal questioned, "dare I ask who 'they' are?"

"Remember when you sent to to look into the Akatsuki?" Cobra and Jellal both nodded. "Well, Juvia and Nami referenced him by both. Nami called him "Metalface," Juvia asked if that meant Gajeel, and Nami said yes."

"Well Erza," Jellal smirked to himself "Sounds like your old friend is _really_ getting into some serious crime for once."

" _Shut it!_ "

"Well, what should we do about this?"

"I'm going after him." The Large Smoker said. "Lee's report did state that the Akatsuki wanted him as a member."

"Actually, Captain Smoker, no." Jellal said. "I think Erza should go after her."

"Erza has forfeited her right to-"

"HEY! I'VE COLLECTED MORE CRIMINALS THAN ANYONE IN THIS ROOM! ONLY ONE HAS GOTTEN AWAY!"

"And that one is Naruto."

"Quiet!" The calm yet authoritative Lord Cobra told the two. "Jellal, continue."

"Thank you. You see, Erza actually has the best chance of capturing Naruto. It's true that Naruto will like get away. But he let's Erza follow him." Although everyone was standing, they leaned forward at that. "From what I can tell, Naruto likes her company. But whenever anyone else fails to catch him, like when Sakura went after him he covers his tracks quickly and rather efficiently. He's never done that with Erza."

 _That explains why he left the cameras on._

"So, I think that discovering Naruto's Motivation and next step is best left up to Erza and Erza alone. Any objects?" At first, there were none.

"I… I can't agree to that." Everyone looked over to a women of Erza's height, with long white hair and a fancy dress. "Erza's not going alone."

"First Naruto steps up his game and then Mirajane objects to a plan. This is quite an interesting day."

"Erza, you need someone to be there as a fail safe."

Lee spoke up. "Who exactly should go with her?"

"I will." Mirajane took note of everyone being rather shocked. However, Erza came to her defense.

"Sure. Mirajane is welcome to tag along. Naruto's never met her, or any member of the Strauss family."

"Yeah, I'm also one of the only two people who will let Erza do her thing; me and Naruto.

After a bit of silence, Cobra approved of the notion. "Mirajane, head to Erza's headquarters as soon as possible."

"With the magic I have in reserve, me and my hovercycle could make it there before nightfall tomorrow."

"Good. In that case, you two are dismissed to prepare." And the projections of the two girls faded out.

"You know, they might actually get him this time." Sakura said with optimism.

"Yeah, but part of me kind of doesn't want them to. I don't know, I just can't imagine our jobs being that interesting without him." Jellal smirked a little harder. "Besides, Erza might go insane if he's no longer part of her life."

Naruto smiled as he made his way back into the rundown town, filled with relatively mediocre living conditions he and Hime called home. "Looking forward to getting rid of this bag." He stopped in front of a rundown but otherwise uninteresting building. It was in slightly better condition than the rest of the houses at least.

"Hello?" Naruto walked in. "I got it."

"Great!" Naruto tossed the bag of money to the man with metal piercings in his face. "I knew you and your little girlfriend could break into the HQ!" Gajeel reached behind his chair and tossed a staff with a hook on it to Naruto.

"You know, Gajeel, I would have done this for you without being blackmailed. Probably could have done it better with it."

"Yeah, maybe. But I'll tell you what. You and your girlfriend can stay for dinner tonight. Our treat."

"Well, thank you."

"You're really going to let them stay here for the night?" From the shadows of the room, and woman with red hair walked forward.

"Oh, great idea! We have spare rooms, after all."

She didn't look too happy. "Well, fine, but you better not try to seduce me or I'll beat the shit out of you!"

"Hello to you too, Tayuya. Don't worry, I don't just go at it with anyone."

"Your… lady friend says otherwise."

"You know I have a name." Naruto turned around to find a girl in an orange dress-like clothe and blue hair. "And good word choice, Tayuya. Had you called me his whore I'd be the shit out of YOU."

"Like you could."

"So, Naruto, how did the Binocucom work?"

"Works like a dream, _Hime_."

"Naruto." She got up close to him, grabbed the device from his back pocket, and whispered into his ear "We're not on the mission anymore, so please stop calling me that."

"Okay, If my Levy wants to be called that, I'll comply."

Levy gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good boy."

"Okay you two, you can fuck later. Naruto, come help me cook. And keep you hands to yourself."

"You really don't trust me, huh?"

"No."


	3. Chapter 3: Setting Plans in Motion

_**Chapter 3: Setting Plans in Motion**_

Naruto and Tayuya brought out the meal of the night for the four of them. Steak, Chicken and Hamburger Cheese mash-up.

"No ramen, Naruto?" Levy teased.

"No. I eat more than that, you know?"

"Yeah, Levy. Give you boyfriend some respect." Gajeel laughed. "He eats redbean as well!" Metal face nearly fell over laughing.

"Good thing you fell over, I was about to put this cane to good use." Naruto snickered to himself.

"I heard that!"

"You two never change." Levy smiled as Tayuya placed the last piece of meat on the table.

And, the moment she sat down, Naruto and Gajeel went at it like animals finding fresh meat for the first time. "You're right, Levy - they never will change." Tayuya joked having an eggroll.

 **Meanwhile, back at HQ**

Erza was in shock and awe when she found that Mirajane was already at the HQ. What didn't surprise her was that Mira literally couldn't stand once she arrived. "Mirajane, how much magic did you put into that?!"

"Not…. not too much… just enough to… to…"

 _She turned a 3 hour drive into a 30 minutes._ "You've done enough today." Erza picked her up bridal style. "We're going to have something to eat and go to bed. We'll work at Naruto mid-day tomorrow."

"Sound like… fun…" Mira had the most tired expression anime could muster. "Got any ramen?"

"I should have guessed." _Rumor has it that she only eats ramen. Weird._

 **Okay, back to our "heroes"**

Naruto and Gajeel had extended bellies to show that they probably eaten their own weight in chicken. You might think this is where one of the girls makes a joke about them being pigs. But a pan over to Levy and Tayuya reveal that they're no better.

"Okay, that's enough food for the ***belch*** year." Levy said.

"Yeah… I'm with ya." Naruto weakly smiled.

"Well, Naruto." Gajeel managed to sit up. "How about some really valuable information?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I wouldn't send you and Levy on a mission like that without proper pay." Gajeel reached under his chair, and slid a file to Naruto. _Good thing we cleared everything out on the table._

Naruto opened it up and inside where "Blueprints?"

"Yeah. But not just any." Gajeel smiled. "That's blueprints of the Heartfilia Mansion." Metal face sat back. "You see, I hear there's information on the Akatsuki somewhere in there." Naruto's head shot up, as did Levy and Tayuya. "Yep. I believe that group of thieves took something from you?"

"Yeah…" Naruto looked down. "They took an awful lot from me." He got up. "Thanks for dinner. I'm going to go to bed now, though."

"Alright." Tayuya got up, not questioning why Naruto is so sad all of the sudden, and showed him to the guest room. Levy, having never been told of this followed them.

"I'm wondering what they did." Gajeel leaned back in seat… some more. "Meh, he'll tell me some day."

 **-One hour later-**

Erza and Mira were enjoying their simple dinner, with Mirajane having to eat a lot more to make up for lost magic. "So, Erza, what's our plan?"

"Simple, we eat. Then, you rest up. Tomorrow, we'll ride you cycle to Naruto."

"Where is he?"

"In some run-down town an hour or so away by cycle. Well, a cycle being driven reasonably." Mirajane just blushed at that. "But we'll have to basically do this as we go along. This job doesn't allow for that much planning."

"Okay. Fine by me." _As long as I get my hands on Naruto, I don't care._

 **Back at the rundown town**

 **Also, this part gets M rated. Just saying.**

Naruto was sitting on the bed in his room, going through all the blueprints Gajeel gave him. "What would the Heartfilia family have to do with a world-wide thieving organization?"

"This is you idea of sleeping?" Naruto turned his head to see Levy in some very cozy pajamas. She closed the door and then placed two tags (one red and one green) on the wall. "So, you never told me you were involved with Akatsuki."

"I'm not." He said. "They got involved with me."

"Care to tell me when you were going to explain this to me?"

"On our anniversary." Naruto put the blueprints back into the file, and placed the file on the nightstand. "But I can guess I can tell you tomorrow."

"Why wait until tomorrow?" Levy asked.

"We have a long and boring drive tomorrow. It'll give us something to talk about." He stopped to think for a second. "The mansion isn't a field trip away."

"You're right." Levy jump on the bed and pushed Naruto down. "Tomorrow will be boring. But tonight…" She unzipped his jacket. "You mind will be on other things - I promise." Levy smiled as she took her shirt off.

"Yeah. I guess it will." The two took the time to fully undress and show each other in full glory.

"Say, Naruto. I've been meaning to ask… What do you find sexy about me?"

"Huh?"

"You been at it with other, hotter women. Even on certain heists. But you've always come back to me. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto took the time to kiss his nude lover. "You're what I find sexy."

"I.. I don't get it."

"You see, I love you Levy; you know that. That love is what turns me one." He snuggled her closer, giving her a… sharp reminder that he's not one for lying. "I don't what your body is, Levy. It's the fact that it's your body that makes me love it." He then got even closer and whispered it into her ear. "And if you're ready, I'll prove I meant every word."

Levy, despite shaking a bit, smiled. "Do it."

As the room began to become filled with screams and moans of each other's names, a quick look at the wall reveals that the two tags were Military Sealing Tags. The red one said "sound" and the green one said "smell."

 _ **Jakers here. Sorry for the cock tease. I just wanting to have a light introduction to how there will be lemon scenes throughout the story at certain points. So if you're against that, well you might just want to read over them. That said, I'll put when they start and when they ended if you don't want to read them. Also, feel free to ask any question. Either me or NinjaW will answer at least one per uploaded section of the story.**_

 _ **I think I'll start on the question a lot of people are asking: why? Why do this? Why do something this crazy? Well, this is a story in and of itself. In Sounds Complicated (Me and Ninja's OTHER collab), Ninja had the idea of having Erza appear and join the harem. Long story short, Erza would of been one of the ninjas who was in the First Great Ninja War that Orochimaru brought back with a prototype jutsu. We decided against it because she took up too much time to explain her presence, and that lead to her stealing the show from others. So, we wanted to give her and Naruto their own story. That lead to a story with Naruto characters in the world of Fairy Tail. Naruto and Tenten would be the main ones, with others showing up over time. This was ultimately scrapped because we couldn't change enough of the story to justify it in the first place. Eventually, we started throwing ideas into a docs and this eventually was formed as a concept. So we spend about 2 weeks working at it until we got a good idea of where we're going with this.**_

 _ **Next time, Episode One begins!**_


	4. An Update to that Question I asked

Hello - Jakers here with a bit more of an update.

For those of you who don't know, I'm holding a poll in the reviews (I would on my profile, but nobody visits it). Should I include Orihime from Bleach in this series. I've been listening; I'm not going to close it yet. (I'm gonna give it a few days). While I'm not going to say who is in the lead, I will say I hear more reasons not to include her than to include. So, I think these people deserve rational answers. These are questions I've been asked, or things I think someone could ask.

 _ **Why Orihime? Why her, out of everyone you could use from THREE series (and Bleach not being one of them)?**_

This is the most common one. It's worth mentioning most people seem to not notice that One Piece characters are in this crossover. (If I was given a third crossover option, I would have added One Piece). But given that it's mostly been Naruto, Levy, and Erza - I get making that mistake.

Anyway, Orihime was originally going to be Naruto's main love interest before I changed her to Levi. (Because not only does Levi deserve some love in fanfiction for a change, but I wanted a NarutoxLevi at some point). However, I wanted a completely non-combat character to be involved with the harem - someone to work at the base. Levi is going to be needed in the field more and more as the series goes on, so I need someone else there. Also, Orihime would be the only character who couldn't defend herself from most threats the gang would have to deal with - at least not at first.

That's the quick answer, but let me break it down to the three elements.

 _ **Why not replace her with a Naruto character?**_

Well… to be honest, I plan to use more male Naruto characters than female. If you want to see Naruto interact with a lot of the babes of the Hidden Leaf Village, then I recommend you go and check out "Sounds Complicated." I want to do stuff with "Partners in Crime" that I can't do in "Sounds Complicated." If I want Naruto and Ayame to get it on, I'll add her to the harem in "Sounds Complicated."

 _ **Why not replace her with a Fairy Tail Character?**_

"Non-Combat." I can't think of a female character from Fairy Tail that fits that bill. Even Lucy regularly uses her whip in battle. On top of that… I think I've ran out of Fairy Tail Vixens that will… "Interact" with our blonde hero.

 _ **Okay… So why not a One piece character if you're pulling from that series as well?**_

I'm going to be honest… because I don't know too much about One Piece. (I've been thinking of when I could throw Boa Hancock into the series). I don't know too many of the cast. The only other character from One Piece I currently plan to include are Name, Nico Robin, Sanji, and maybe Zolo/Zoro (Which should I call him)?

 _ **How could you incorporate her into this?**_

Don't underestimate my ability to bullshit my way through stuff!

In all seriousness though, I already know how to introduce her, who in the group she has ties to, and why she might initially join the group. On that note, there's something about the series that Orihime would explain.

 _ **Please don't start throwing Bleach characters in. It's hard enough to follow.**_

I won't. I only plan to use Orihime.

 _ **Then why use here if she's the only character from Bleach?**_

So… is there some sort of "Character Usage Quota" in fanfiction crossovers that I was never told about? I don't see how this is a big point.

 _ **You don't need her.**_

You're not wrong. I will have to put more effort into justifying her being in the series in comparison to the rest. However, I'm confident I can do it.

 _ **Why do you keep say "I" when you're working with NinjaW on this?**_

… I'll answer this one at a later date. Although now's a good time to mentioned that Orihime was his idea, and he wasn't too happy when I convinced him to drop her as Naruto's main love interest.

Anyway, I hope I gave some insight into why I've been considering this character for some time.


	5. Chapter 4: Departure

_**Chapter 4: Departure**_

Naruto and Levy left the rundown town with three days worth of food, four days worth of water in their 'bag' and a 1 day trip to the Heartfilia Complex - kick a very large cloud of dust behind the hovercycle.

"Well." Gajeel said. "They're off."

"On their dumbest quest yet." Tayuya remarked. "Well, best of luck to them anyway."

As Tayuya walked away, Gajeel looked at the cloud of dust going off in the distance. "A dumb quest Naruto's been looking forward to for most of his life."

Meanwhile Levy was holding onto Naruto for dear life as they flew off as fast as the vehicle would go; she could feel Naruto's hook-cane that Gajeel rewarded him with. "Not wasting any time on this one, are we?"

"No, Levy. I'm not." Naruto seemed a lot more tense than she would guessed, considering last night.

"You know, you still owe me an explanation for all of this." Levy kept her leveled-headed expression and tone.

"Er…" Naruto scratched his head.

"You better not of just said that-"

"I didn't." Naruto put his smile back on. "I'm just not sure what to say right now. Especially when we're not sure if this is actually going to lead to something."

"Well then, tell me at least what might be on the line."

"That's… that's a good place to start." Naruto mellowed out. "This is a family matter."

"But you're an orphan, right?"

"Yeah." Naruto looked down. "But I HAD a family."

"Oh really? Care to explain why I'm only just now hearing this?"

"I told you last night, I intended to tell you on our anniversary." Naruto kept his eyes on the road (well, there wasn't really a road, but you get the idea). "At first it was because I didn't just want to blab my life story to what could've just been another thief." He could sense Levy with the understanding smile she loved to use when they talk. "Needless to say, you turned out to mean a lot more to me than that."

"So, what kept you from telling me for so long?"

"Because… I honestly forgot about it."

"You kidding?"

"Not at all." Naruto got a more serious expression than before. "It just slipped my mind."

"So you just forgot about the thing that you've had on your mind for most of your life?"

"Yeah." Naruto tried to calm down to explain himself. "You remember the day we met?"

"Of course I do. We were robbing the Alabastan Museum for the Golden Violin on display."

"Well… I wasn't there for that." Naruto pause for a few moments to let that sink into his girlfriend's mind. "Gajeel and Tayuya said that the Museum had some information on the Akatsuki. I couldn't find shit." Naruto gave himself a light chuckle. "Out of anger, I was determined to not leave empty-handed."

"So that's why you went after the Violin?"

"Yep." Naruto gave himself a smug smile. "I may not have left with it, but I certainly left with something valuable."

Levy let a little blush go across her face. "So… What happened to make you give up on this if you've been after them your entire life?"

"Simple" Naruto turned around to give Levy his signature smile. "You entered my life." Naruto went back to driving. "After we became partners, I guess you became all that mattered. I had something else to my life for the first time in years, and I wanted to enjoy every second of it. This is the first time since I met you that the Akatsuki was brought up to my attention."

Levy smiled as she made her embrace on Naruto into more of a hug. "So, we're dealing with one of the few things you find more important than me?" She said with a loving, and somewhat mocking tone.

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it." Naruto turned his head around real quick, since he felt like he was being followed. Although, the dust from the hoverbike made seeing behind them impossible.

Levy used a free arm to turn the radio on the hoverbike on. "Well, that's a good reason for me. Count me in! But I say we listen to tunes for a bit."

" _ **Anyway, that was "Do I wanna Know" played for the third time this hour. While I know you all love listening to the same shit over and over, we're going to listen to something a little more romantic this time."**_

As soon as the instruments kicked in, the two of them recognized it immediately. "This song, huh?"

"Yep." Naruto smiled. "The song that played all night as we we're escaping from the Museum."

"And Erza was following us the whole time." Levy smiled back.

And the couple sang their song as they drove off. " _Cause there ain't no mountain high enough… ain't no valley…"_

Outside of the rundown town, the armoured scarlet Erza was looking through binoculars to try and find their target.

"So Erza, you sure Naruto lives here?" Mirajane smiled as she asked

"Yeah. Positive. It's a town of many of Alabastas petty criminals. To them, I'd bet Naruto is a hero."

"So… why not just get an army and go through the town?"

"We can't assume every person there has done something to warrant arrest, and we don't know who all lives here. This town keeps itself running without military help, so there's probably just as many poor people as there are criminals." Erza stopped look through the binoculars for a moment. "And it seems that the king has no interest in the town as a whole, nor does Jellal."

'Well then… I guess that makes some sense." Mirajane looked off to the distant town. "I wonder how people could live here."

"I guess when you're at wits end, anything seems ideal." Erza looked through the binoculars - only to immediately throw them to the ground and hop on her hovercycle. "COME ON, MIRAJANE! I SAW NARUTO LEAVING ON HIS HOVERCYCLE!"

Mirajane grabbed the binoculars on the ground, and then jumped on to the bike. Holding onto Erza, she gave the simple "I'm ready."

And the two took off after them. As the two began to catch up, Erza pressed a button, and a magic, see-through disk appeared in front to the bike, deflecting any dirt or dust Naruto's hoverbike might end up kicking into the air. "Thanks to the dust these things kick up, Naruto won't be able to turn around to see us."

"Clever." Mirajane said. "Hey, Erza, I have a question."

"Okay - what is it?"

"Why do you hunt down Naruto? And more importantly, why does he let you."

Erza took a moment to think about her answer. "I… I really don't want to answer that."

"To hard?"

"No. I… I just to want you so see me…" A few tears went down Erza's cheeks.

"Oh." Mirajane, being a quick thinker, came up with a different question. "Well, what happened to make you Naruto's designated officer? Can you tell me that?"

Erza had to sniff a few times, but was ultimately able to pull herself together. "That's just sort of been the way it is for years. I knew Naruto well before he was a criminal or I was a cop."

"Childhood Friends?"

"Yeah." Erza had a dead serious look on her face. "I kind of feel like Naruto is my responsibility. And part of me wonders if he knows that and just likes to toy with me."

"Maybe." Mirajane said.

"That said, Naruto didn't start picking his game up until about ten months ago."

"Ten months ago…" Mirajane tried to think back to what could have happened at that time. "Wait… are you suggesting Naruto was involved with the Alabastan Museum all those months ago?"

"Yeah, he was. I saw him there myself. He was with some girl with spiky blue hair, and they were taking the Golden Violin. Although the weird part is, Naruto left it in the parking lot."

"Strange. Do we know anything about the blue haired girl?"

"At first we thought it was Akatsuki member Juvia Lockser, but that has been debunked by Jellal and Rock Lee's investigation into her."

"Wait, you said the blue haired girl had spiky blue hair, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"When I first joined the Alabastan Corps, my first job was to investigate one infamous crimnal by the name of Levy McGarden."

"You mean-"

"Yep. Levy, the hacker for hire. She's worked with a ton of major criminals in this country, and is linked to plenty of scandals, robberies, and acts of cyber terrorism. And if I'm not mistaken, she has gone on record saying that she wanted to pull off something big - something like robbing a priceless artifact from a museum."

"... Shit." Erza thought to herself. _Naruto… what are you doing with her? Is SHE the reason you did what you did yesterday?_

"Shortly after the heist, I lost track of her - she just seemed to vanish. And around that time-"

"-Naruto began robbing other criminals more and more." Erza sighed heavily as reality set in. "So, Naruto has a partner now it seems."

"Two at least, we have reasons to believe he's working with Gajeel AND Levy now. So, what now?"

"We stick to the plan. We follow both of them to figure out what they're up to. As bad as this sounds, this could be a pitiful crime of robbing some criminal." _Probably isn't, but I can be hopeful._

"Well… I think some tunes will cheer us up." Mirajane turned the radio on.

" _ **Anyway, that was "Do I wanna Know" played for the third time this hour. While I know you all love listening to the same shit over and over, we're going to listen to something a little more romantic this time."**_

"OH!" Mirajane let the music play for a bit. "I LOVE THIS SONG!"

"Mira, you can be dorky sometimes, you know that." Erza had a smile throughout that entire sentence.

"You no fun sometimes, you know?"

"I know." Erza gave out a chuckle.

And the two went on through, Mirajane began to sing the song. " _Cause there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley…"_

As the two groups of two zoomed across the dusty landscape, a scoped sniper was looking at them. "Bisca, it looks like Naruto Uzumaki is out and about."

"And… what about it, Alzack?"

"You know how much trouble he's caused? I bet the Alabastan Corps would pay us a shit load for getting him."

"No. We leave them alone."

"But, Bisca, we need the money-"

"We're Bounty Hunters, not Vigilantes. If they put him on a wanted poster, I'll be right behind you in hunting his ass down. But until then, he's not our problem. Besides… It looks like there's some Corps after them." Alzack looked though his scope again. "If you pay attention, the hoverbike tailing him is a Corps model."

"Fine." Alzack got on his normal motorcycle, and Bisca got on hers. "But Kagura is going to give us hell for coming back empty-handed again…"

"Relax, we'll head out to the local steak house. Those two seem to be heading that way as well."


	6. Chapter 5: Time to Dine

_**Time to Dine**_

Naruto and Levy enjoyed the next hour of "Ain't no mountain high enough," but their love for the music wasn't enough to keep their hoverbike going. It doesn't run on love, it runs on the magic of the individual who runs it - something perfectly rational. And Naruto's magic was running low. Proof? The fact that he was having trouble keeping the bike straight. It got so bad that Levy was having to help keep him steady or they'll both go down. "Naruto, you okay?"

"Yeah…" He said, sounding half asleep. "We're… we're going to get there soon enough."

"Uh, no - we're not." Levy said, reaching for the bars to take control. "There's a town up ahead with a diner. You need some food if you're going to get us there by nightfall." _Which you're clearly trying to do._

"Huh? Oh… yeah, sure."

"That's it - give me the wheel." Naruto took a scoot back, and Levy jumped over him and landed in the drivers seat. "I'm driving until we get there - you just calm down, mister!"

"Fi...fine…" And with that, Naruto drifted off into sleep, leaning onto Levy.

"Well… I bet some grub will fix ya up." Levy smiled at her tired boyfriend, but the smile was an empty lie. _And to think… I thought I actually made this bike right. I guess I get to work on it… again._

"Strange…" Erza said, taking to her partner. "Are they slowing down?"

"Yeah, I think so." Mirajane shot her friend a puzzled look. "So… do we slow down too?"

"I guess." Erza slowed down as Mirajane began to lean on her a bit more than usual. "Mira, are you okay?"

"Yeah… Why?" Mirajane's eyes closed as she went limp.

"Mira? As she asked that, Mirajane fell right off her bike. "MIRAJANE!" Erza came to a complete stop to pick here friend up. "MIRAJANE?! ARE YOU OKAY?"

 ***yawn*** "Yeah… please don't yell… tired."

Erza let out a large sigh. "You still haven't recovered from last night, have you?" Erza stopped to think about the situation - Naruto's bike had slowed down considerably. "Look, it seems that Naruto's heading towards the town up ahead."

"Still River?"

"Yeah, that's the one. There's a steak-house there - we'll stop by and get you some food."

"Sounds… good."

"Can you stay awake until then?"

"Yeah. I'll make it."

 _You better._ "Well, let this be a lesson - don't overuse these things." _Be happy that this is a Corps model - I've heard horror stories of someone over-blowing it on home-made models._

" _Naruto… Naruto, wake up!"_ Naruto opened his eyes to be lying on a sidewalk. "Naruto, you awake?"

"Levy?"

"Yep - it's me." She pointed to the building beside them - showing that they were on the right side. "We're in Still River. We're parked outside the steak house - you need some food." Levy, holding Naruto's cane reached into her pocket and handed Naruto a large stack of cash and then pushed his spiky blonde hair down. "Go inside and get yourself anything you want."

"Oh… Thanks! You want anything?"

"Nope." Levy pulled out of their "bag" - a blue cube some instant noodles. "I'll just have some of our rations." _And work on this piece of shit._

"Okay." Naruto walked forward, bent over and gave her a little peck on her cheek. "I won't be long."

Naruto walked into the steak house - which frankly felt more like a saloon than anything else. The fact that there was a bar with bar stools reinforced that. Not that he's too upset - he hasn't been to a saloon since he and Levy started going out.

"Hello." A woman with platinum blonde hair walk out of the kitchen. "Welcome to our little Steakhouse here in Still RIver. I'm Ino Yamanaka - may I start you off with a drink?"

"Yes - I'd like to order some green tea and a shot of scotch."

"Sure!" She turned around and headed to the kitchen. Cautiously, Naruto started to smile.

"I told you it wasn't him."

And smile time is over. He wasn't sure why. There was no reason to believe so, but Naruto just _knew_ the woman who said that was talking to him.

"Mirajane, wake up."

"Huh?"

"We're at the Still River Steakhouse." Erza pointed to her right, showing that they parked on the left side of the building.

Mirajane looked at the building - with a strong look of disbelief taking over her face. " _ **That's**_ a steakhouse?"

"It used to be a Saloon, but during a time of prohibition they just starting calling it a steakhouse and stopped selling alcohol."

"Do they sell alcohol now?"

"Why do you ask?"

"So yes?"

"Mirajane, you don't need to get drunk. Booze doesn't mix well with you."

"So they definitely sell it."

"Mirajane, I'm serious - You have trouble holding down a couple bottles of wine. DON'T test out their scotch."

"Damn… haven't had a drink in months…"

"Mira - " Erza walked up and gave her some money and a gold wristwatch.

"What's this for?"

"To keep track of time. While you don't need to rush yourself, I'm positive Naruto's hiding somewhere in this town. And frankly, I'd love to start looking for him before he gets a chance to leave."

"And I bet you'd _**love**_ to catch him, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yeah. I-" Erza's bright-red face just realized the implications of her answer. "Mirajane, just go get your damn lunch."

Mirajane smiled to herself as she went into the saloon. _I don't care if they call it a Steakhouse - this is a saloon._ However, it seemed that the talk of the pub was this man with flat blonde hair - he was talking with local bounty hunters Bisca and Alzack, and Naruto Uzumaki's name keeps getting brought up.

"So, you're Naru?"

"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint."

"Mister, your drinks are ready!" And with that, this Naru fella went back to the bar and starting sipping from a large drink. "Are you ready to order?"

"Let me look over your menu for a bit, please." The blonde waitress nodded as she turned around and cleaned up a glass.

"Hey, mister Naru." Mirajane got next to him. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

"Oh… sure." He said, prompting the white-haired girl to sit next to him. "Hey, waitress, can I please have a glass of green tea?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back with that!"

Mirajane looked over to the blonde man at her left side. _Maybe I can swipe that scotch._

"Miss… are you okay?" Mirajane jumped out of her thoughts with Naru's remark. "You seemed rather distant there for a moment."

"Sorry. I'm just fine." She smiled as her green tea came out. "By the way, I'm Mirajane Strauss."

"Really?" He had a puzzled look on his face. "Strauss?" His next statement may have been spoken under his breathe, but it didn't go over Mirajane's head. "Why does that name ring a bell?"

 _It better ring a bell, Naruto… or Naru if that's what you go by now._ "Mmm… It seems they don't have ramen on the menu."

"I don't know about you, but I'm thinking of the medium steak meal."

"Mmm… That _does_ sound good."

Levy was eating some instant noodles as she used some stun-gun-esque device on the Hoverbike. "This piece of shit - I'm _positive_ that I made this right." She sighed as she stopped working on the bike to sit back and try to enjoy some noodles. "Man, I'm really starting to miss Orhime's cooking right about now." _If I wasn't so certain we'd be recognised, I would have gone in with him._ She looked at the giant truck to the left of the bike, effectively hiding her from passers by. "I wonder if there's something I could swipe in there." She peeked into it, finding a _very_ advanced GPS inside the giant truck. "Oh - we could certainly use one of those." She attempted to open the door, finding out that not only is it locked but has a magic seal inside the lock. "Ah, a sealed lock. Had it been anyone else, that might work." She placed her noodles down, and pulled a scroll out of her 'bag.' "But I'm not just anyone - I'm a thieving mage." She opened the scroll, where some letters started to float in the air. From the scroll, a pencil popped out of it. Grabbing it, Levy started to write some symbols in the air in front of the lock. "Script Magic: Seal Reverse." She whispered, in case someone was around. The letters around her started to glow red, with a few turning blue. Then, in an instant the door unlocked itself. "I love my script magic. Now…" Levy sealed the pencil back into the scroll as she open the truck. "Now… what does out treasure chest here have for us?"

 _ **Shortly later...**_

Erza sat next on the hoverbike, suppressing her stomachs groans. "If we weren't hunting Naruto, I'd go in with her." _But we are. I don't need Naruto to know Mirajane and I are partners; she's my trump card right now._ "It's been a half-hour since she's entered. I get that she doesn't eat as fast as I do… but if she doesn't hurry, Naruto might get leave town."

"Mmm…" Mirajane and Naru(to) both 'said' as they enjoyed their medium steaks and the steak fries that come with the order. _This should refill my magic. Mirajane/Naruto may be nice, but I can't stay; Levy/Erza will be wanting to leave town once I'm done. Shame._

After finishing their steak, Mirajane noticed that Naruto never drank his scotch. "Mirajane, what do you want? You're blanking out again."

"Um…" _Damn… I guess I better just ask for it._ "Do you want that scotch?"

"Do you?"

"So no?"

"I mean, if you do want it you can have it."

With her eyes lighting up, she swiped the shot and almost immediately drank it. The only thing stopping her was Erza's warning ringing in her head. And so, with an aura of dissapoint emitting from her - which Naruto certainly noticed. "What, you can't drink it?" Stopping for a moment allowed Naruto to think about what that could mean. "So… you can't drink some scotch right now?"

"... No. I'm on a mission, and I'm not supposed to drink."

"Then why drink?"

"I just feel like having a buzz." She leaned her head onto Naru(to)'s. "You know what I mean?"

"Yep. That's why I order it. That said… I had a feeling that I should stay sober."

"Ah." Mirajane sat up straight again. "Any chance you're still up for a drink?"

"You know what? Sure."

Both smiled at each other. _I haven't had a drinking partner in a while;_

 _Not since I've started dating Levy._

 _Not since I've joined up with Erza._

"Hey, Ino - three more shots of scotch, and two cups of cola."

"Coming right up!"

"Naruto, why more alcohol? And the soda?"

"Simply. You've said you want a buzz, right? Between the food we just ate and the soda mixing with the booze, you'll have a nice buzz."

"Great idea." _Naruto's shockingly considerate fro a criminal. I'm starting to see why Erza likes him so much._ "Sounds great." Naruto and Mirajane looked at each other for a split moment.

"It'll be great." Ino said as she places the three shots and two cups. "I'm starting to think you two are dating or something."

"Sorry, we're not." Naruto said. "Although I wouldn't be against it if we could."

"Same." Mirajane smiled - a smile Naruto returned as he poured two shots into each cup. _No wonder they we only half filled._

Naruto handed Ino enough money to cover both of their meals. "Keep the change."

"Thanks you, sir."

Mirajane grabbed her cup, as did Naruto. "Cheers, Mirajane."

"Cheers, Naru." _If him putting his hair down flat makes Naruto, unrecognizable, then this is either a town of criminals or idiots. Maybe both._

As the two chugged it down their soda, they sat there for moment to let the booze take effect.

" _Done_!" Levy smiled as she pulled back with her stun-gun-device from the new GPS, now between the handlebars of their home-made hoverbike. "Looks like getting lost won't happen again any time soon." She then turned her attention to a small green computer chip she put on the seat. "Now on to you, my tracking little friend." She pulled a laptop she swiped from the truck out, and started to open it. "Let's see if I can build a second one of you."

"Mirajane, what's taking you so long?

" _Hehehe… Naruto, sit still._ "

"Mirajane, I am."

" _Oh. Okay._ ***hic*** _Well, can you keep me up?_ "

"Oh… Sure." Naruto placed his hand around her. "Are you going to be okay?"

 ***hic*** " _Yeah, I'll be okay. Booze and me have… a… a…"_

"Love-Hate relationship?"

" _Tust me._ ***hic*** Mirajane leaned onto him and whispered. " _I don't hate you Naruto._

 _Shit. She knew who I was?_

" _Although it's too early to call it love, honey."_

"Okay, I think you need help."

" _My ride… she's on the left side of the… building."_

"Okay. If I get you outside, can you make it to her?"

" _ONLY if you… hold me hand, honey."_

"Deal."

Mirajane allowed Naruto to hold her left hand as he lead her out of the saloon. Although her left wrist felt _**very**_ weird throughout the walk out. _Naruto… has a weird way of holding hands… I doubt her and… Levy? Lenny? Lucy? Whoever I doubt they're dating if this is how he hold… how he_

"Mirajane, we made it."

" _Huh? Oh, thanks Naru… You're so polite."_

"Sure." Naruto noticed as she leaned against the building on her way to where she claim her ride was. Naruto was about to check up on her until her heard a very familiar voice.

"What took you so long?"

 _Erza!? She's here? And she's with Mirajane?_

"And where's the watch I gave you?"

 _And that's when I make my escape._ Naruto made a perfect 180 and hauled ass to the other side. "Levy?"

"Oh, Hello Naruto. How your meal."

"Great. Now we need to go. NOW!"

"Why?"

"Erza's here. And I think she has help."

"You had me at Erza. Let me put this chip in and we'll be on our way."

"The GPS is new. Where did ya get tha-" Naruto's answer was answer as he saw she left the truck door open, to which Naruto closed it.

"Mirajane, I'm still waiting for an answer."

" _Sorry, Erza. I met such a polite gentleman in there. He was so sweet. He payed for my food, gave me some scotch mixed in soda, and help me out. Cute to."_

"Great. Congrats on finding a boyfriend. Now let's get going."

" _You're just jealous that_ ***hic*** _Naruto told me he'd like to date me in there."_

" **WHAT!?"**

" _Hehehe… he was so sweet. No wonder you-"_ Mirajane was interrupted by the sound of a Hovercycle getting revved up.

"Tipsy, Shut up and hop on. I'd bet that's Naruto and Levy leaving."

Mirajane (somehow) got a strong grip onto Erza as she took off after what turned out to be Naruto and Levy.

 _ **4 Hours Later**_

Naruto smiled as Levy took over the bike. "You see, Naruto? You can still move fast on one of these without costing you all your magic."

"Sorry, Levy. I just didn't want to waste time."

"Fair enough. But I'm more concerned about your health." In a sweet voice, she warned him "I hate it when you're reckless."

"I get that. While it I don't think it'll make up for it, I swiped a little something for you back at the Saloon." Naruto then pulled out a golden wristwatch. "I thought it'd be perfect for you."

"Aw. Now I'm sad I didn't get you something for you from the truck."

"Don't worry, Levy."

"But I should repay you for it, at least." She took her eyes off the road for a few seconds to observe the wristwatch. "It _**is**_ beautiful, after all.

"Well." His hands around her waist started to rise up a bit. "If you're _**that**_ concerned about repaying me, I'm sure you could… _work_ it off."

"Later, Naruto."

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Levy went back to staring at the road, But Naruto was on her mind. "I'd _love_ to _work_ my new debt off. But we're busy." Levy turned the GPS on, and set their destination to the Heartfilia Complex. "We should be there by tomorrow morning."


End file.
